The new exhibition is travelling back about 444 million years to look at the five major occasions when the Earth saw large numbers of species become extinct.
The display at Annan Museum, in Dumfries and Galloway, considers the period 230 million years ago when dinosaurs first began to roam the surface of the earth and describes how they became our planet’s most dominant species, only to become extinct about 66 million years ago.
Today birds are the only creature with a dinosaur lineage to survive. This revealing exhibition also looks at how fossils are made and what the fossil record tells us about these catastrophic events.
The exhibition includes a baby Iguanadon – in adulthood this herbivorous dinosaur could stand 10 meters high and fossils have been discovered all over the world.
Also on display is an Allosaurus, a large theropod dinosaur with massive teeth which curved backwards to prevent prey escaping and a Compsognathus, a small carnivorous dinosaur about the size of a turkey which ate insects and small lizards.
There will be drop in activities during the October school holidays to accompany the exhibition when visitors can meet Tea–Rex (loves a brew) and follow his gallery trail, try walking in the footsteps of a dinosaur or make rubbings of fossils.
Councillor Andy Ferguson, chair of communities, said: ‘It is hard to imagine the vast period of geological history covered by this exhibition, but the stunning images and detailed reproductions make the story all too real.’
The exhibition runs until 31 October. Annan Museum is open 11am–4pm Monday to Saturday and admission is free.
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